


Red Velvet Cupcakes

by readingbylamplight



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Gen, Grief/Mourning, May Parker (Spider-Man) Needs a Hug, Parent Tony Stark, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Star Wars - Freeform, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, may and tony's relationship can be read as either platonic or romantic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-13
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2020-01-12 17:19:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18451109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/readingbylamplight/pseuds/readingbylamplight
Summary: “Make a wish,” She whispers, and they both know what the other wishes for in the moments before they blow out the candles.Come home, he wishes again, Come back to us.Her hands tremble, and he takes the plate from her hands before she leaves, hand over her mouth as she tries to hold in her sobs. He’s alone then, and it’s suffocating.





	Red Velvet Cupcakes

He buys a cupcake.  

 

It’s the same kind he’s bought from the same bakery for the last three years, red velvet with vanilla icing and sprinkles.

 

_ “Red velvet? It’s chocolate with food coloring, why are you paying extra at this bakery for some food coloring?” _

 

_ “It tastes better, Mr. Stark.” _

_ “Sure it does, kid.”  _

 

When he goes to get it, Carla already has it ready in its little pale yellow box, and once again she declines payment for it. Tony puts the bills into the tip jar, and he hears her sigh as the door swings shut behind him.

 

Sunlight filters through the leaves and casts shadows on the pavement as he walks, stopping at the florist along the way. There’s a standing order there as well, the bouquet of yellow roses already waiting behind the counter. 

 

When he arrives at the apartment, he climbs the stairs to the third floor instead of taking the elevator; legs burning all the way up. 

 

_ “The elevator’s too slow, Mr. Stark! I’m taking the stairs.” _

 

He’d joke and complain about his old-man legs if there was anyone but ghosts and memories walking with him.

 

His hands are full when he reaches the third floor, so he hits the bottom of the door a couple of times with his foot and it promptly swings open. 

 

May’s there, in a pair of jeans and a Star Wars shirt that tugs at his heart, and she takes the flowers from him; letting him in and shutting the door. Tony sets the cupcake box down on the table, fingers brushing along the paper top and popping it open. The flowers find their way into a vase of water as he does so, and May sets a plate down on the table.

 

Tony’s hands tremble when he takes the cupcake out, careful not to smear the frosting as he places it on the plate, and he hears May take a shuddering breath next to him.

 

“Maybe we should do this later,” She whispers, and he hears her voice catch.

 

Tony nods. He won’t deny her a little bit of peace on this day. 

 

The cupcake is left on the table, and they move to the living room. Star Wars is waiting there,  _ A New Hope _ paused at the beginning, and once the lights are off and they're both sat down it begins. 

 

_ “You ever see this really old movie-“ _

 

His eyes burn with tears and he shuts them. May’s hand curls around his own, squeezing. She shifts and her head falls onto his shoulder. 

 

He doesn't open his eyes until the movie is over; until the fabric of his shirt beneath May’s cheek is soaked through with tears and the sun is setting in the distance. 

 

“A little while longer?” She whispers, and he nods.

 

The next movie begins, and Tony lets himself cry with her. 

 

At some point he leaves the room, he’s not exactly sure, but she doesn't follow so he guesses he gave some excuse of why. 

 

Peter’s room is untouched, as it has been for the last three years, a hoodie still hanging off the back of his desk chair, homework still piled on the table, bed unmade. The only difference is the pile of presents at the end of the bed, a dozen or so boxes wrapped in brightly colored wrapping paper.

 

Tony moves without even thinking, walking over to the chest of drawers and pulling it open. His heart stops for a moment when he holds one of the shirts in his hands, and it stutters back to life when he breathes in the smell of the fabric. 

 

He’s scared that someday they’ll lose this reminder of him, that time will steal away the smell of their kid. 

 

He’s scared they’ll forget.

 

The door creaks open behind him, and he puts the shirt back, clenching his jaw in an effort to get his emotions under control. 

 

“You’ve never been a great liar, Tony,” May says. He doesn't turn to face her, staring at the picture on the desk, him and Peter holding the Stark Internship certificate upside down and doing bunny-ears behind the other’s head, “Especially not when it came to him.”

 

He turns then and catches sight of her. She’s holding the plate with the cupcake, those decorative birthday candles in the shape of  _ 18 _ already on it, the lighter tucked in between the plate and her fingers. He lights the candles for her, and the firelight casts shadows on their faces as the sun sets outside.

 

“Make a wish,” She whispers, and they both know what the other wishes for in the moments before they blow out the candles.

 

_ Come home,  _ he wishes again,  _ Come back to us. _

 

Her hands tremble, and he takes the plate from her hands before she leaves, hand over her mouth as she tries to hold in her sobs. He’s alone then, and it’s suffocating.

 

Tony sinks down in the desk chair, setting the plate down on the desk, and takes the picture frame instead. It takes an eternity to speak, the sun finishes setting outside before he can even open his mouth, but when he does his voice is surprisingly steady.

 

“When you get back, you’re going to have so many presents to open, and we’ll buy you as many cupcakes as you can eat, I promise.” The tip of his fingers glides down the frame and his voice shakes, “Happy birthday, tater-tot.”

 

It’s not  _ if he comes back _ , Tony wouldn't be able to get up in the morning if it was. It’s  _ when,  _ because if it’s an  _ if _ it means he could fail and he can’t fail again.

 

If he fails, there will be no more birthdays, no more cupcakes, no more presents on Peter’s bed in Peter’s room that Peter hasn't stepped foot in in three long years.

 

If Tony fails, there won’t be any more hope. 

 

And hope? Hope is all he has left at this point.

 


End file.
